Narcissism
This is an article about narcissism as used in common use, for narcissism in its clinical sense see Narcissism (psychology) Narcissism describes the character trait of self love. The word is derived from a Greek myth. Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name, the narcissus. Freud believed that some narcissism is an essential part of all of us from birth. Andrew P. Morrison claims that, in adults, a reasonable amount of healthy narcissism allows the individual's perception of his needs to be balanced in relation to others.Morrison, Andrew P. Shame: The Underside of Narcissism, The Analytic Press, 1997. ISBN 0-88163-280-5 History The concept of excessive selfishness has been recognized throughout history. In ancient Greece the concept was understood as hubris. It is only in recent times that it has been defined in psychological terms. In 1898 Havelock Ellis, an English sexologist, used the term "narcissus-like" in reference to excessive masturbation, whereby the person becomes his or her own sex objectMillon, Theodore, Personality Disorders in Modern Life, 2004. In 1899, Paul Näche was the first person to use the term "narcissism" in a study of sexual perversions. Otto Rank in 1911 published the first psychoanalytical paper specifically concerned with narcissism, linking it to vanity and self-admiration. Sigmund Freud only published a single paper exclusively devoted to narcissism in 1914 called On Narcissism: An Introduction.Freud, Sigmund, On Narcissism: An Introduction, 1914 In 1923, Martin Buber published his essay "Ich und Du" (I and Thou), in which he pointed out that our narcissism often leads us to relate to others as objects instead of as equals. Developmental aspects Empirical studies Within psychology, there are two main branches of research into narcissism, clinical and social psychology. These approaches differ in their view of narcissism with the former treating it a disorder, and thus as discrete, and the latter treating it as a personality trait, and thus as a continuum. These two strands of research tend loosely to stand in a divergent relation to one another although they converge in places. Campbell and Foster (2007) Campbell, K.W. & Foster J.D. (2007). The Narcissistic Self: Background, an Extended Agency Model, and Ongoing Controversies. To appear in: C. Sedikides & S. Spencer (Eds.), Frontiers in social psychology: The self. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. review the literature on narcissism. They argue that narcissists possess the following ‘basic ingredients’: *Positive. Narcissists think they are better than others. Campbell, W. K., Rudich, E., & Sedikides, C. (2002). Narcissism, selfesteem, and the positivity of selfviews: Two portraits of selflove. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 358368. *Inflated. Narcissists’ views tend to be contrary to reality. In measure which compare self-report to objective measures, narcissists self-views tend to be greatly exaggerated. Gabriel, M. T., Critelli, J. W., & Ee, J. S. (1994). Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of intelligence and attractiveness. Journal of Personality , 62, 143155. *Agentic. Narcissists’ views tend to be most exaggerated in the agentic domain, relative to the communion domain. *Special. Narcissists perceive themselves to be unique and special peopleEmmons, R. A. (1984). Factor analysis and construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 291300.. *Selfish. Research upon narcissists’ behaviour in resource dilemmas supports the case for narcissists as being selfishCampbell, W. K., Bush, C. P., Brunell, A. B., & Shelton, J. (in press). Understanding the social costs of narcissism: The case of tragedy of the commons. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.. *Oriented toward success. Narcissists are oriented towards success by being, for example, approach oriented Rose, P. & Campbell, W. K. (in press). Greatness feels good: A telic model of narcissism and subjective wellbeing. Advances in Psychology Research. Serge P. Shohov (Ed.) Hauppauge, NY: Nova Publishers. Also, narcissists tend to demonstrate a lack of interest in warm and caring interpersonal relationships. Campbell and Forster (2007) also talk of several ongoing controversies within narcissism literature, namely whether narcissism is healthy or unhealthy, a personality disorder, a discrete or continuous variable, defensive or offensive, the same across genders, the same across cultures, and changeable or unchangeable. Campbell and Foster (2007) argue that self-regulatory strategies are of paramount importance to understanding narcissism.. Self-regulation in narcissists involves such things as striving to make one’s self look, feel positive, special, successful and important. It comes in both intra-psychic, such a blaming a situation rather than self for failure, and interpersonal forms, such as using a relationship to serve one’s own self. Some differences in self-regulation between narcissists and non-narcissists can be seen with Campbell, Reeder, Sedikides & Elliot (2000) Campbell, W.K., Reeder G.D., Sedikides, C. & Elliot, A.J. (2000). Narcissism and Comparative Self-Enhancement Strategies. Journal of Research in Personality 34, 329–347. who conducted a study in which two experiments were conducted. In both experiments, participants took part an achievement task following which they were provided with false feedback; it was either bogus success or failure. It was found that both narcissists and non-narcissists self-enhanced but non-narcissists showed more flexibility in doing so. Participants were measured on both a comparative and a non-comparative self-enhancement strategy. It was found that both narcissists and non-narcissists employed the non-comparative strategy similarly. However, narcissists were found to be more self-serving with the comparative strategy, employing it far more, than non-narcissists, suggesting a greater rigidity with their self-enhancement. When narcissists receive negative feedback which threatens the self, they will self-enhance at all costs whereas non-narcissists tend to have limits. Narcissistic personality disorder Although most individuals have some narcissistic traits, high levels of narcissism can manifest themselves as a pathological form as narcissistic personality disorder, whereby the patient overestimates his or her abilities and has an excessive need for admiration and affirmation. Hotchkiss's seven deadly sins of narcissism HotchkissHotchkiss, Sandy & Masterson, James F. Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism (2003) identified what she called the seven deadly sins of narcissism: # Shamelessness - Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways. # Magical thinking - Narcissists see themselves as perfect using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others. # Arrogance - If a narcissist is feeling deflated, s/he can reinflate him/herself by diminishing, debasing or degrading somebody else. # Envy - If the narcissist's need to secure a sense of superiority meets an obstacle because of somebody else, s/he neutralises it using contempt to minimise the other person's ability # Entitlement - Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves uniquely special. Any failure to comply will be considered an attack on their superiority and the perpetrator is considered to be an "awkward" or "difficult" person. Defiance of their will is a narcissistic injury that can trigger narcissistic rage. # Exploitation - can take many forms but always involves the using of others without regards for their feelings or interests. Often the other is in a subservient position where resistance would be difficult or even impossible. Sometimes the subservience is not so much real as assumed. # Bad Boundaries - narcissists do not recognize that they have boundaries and that others are separate and are not extensions of themselves. Others either exist to meet their needs or may as well not exist at all. Those who provide narcissistic supply to the narcissist will be treated as if they are part of the narcissist and be expected to live up to those expectations. In the mind of a narcissist, there is no boundary between self and other. Masterson's subtypes James F. Masterson in 1993Masterson, James F. The Emerging Self: A Developmental Self & Object Relations Approach to the Treatment of the Closet Narcissistic Disorder of the Self, 1993 proposes two categories for pathological narcissism, exhibitionist and closet. Both fail to adequately develop an age- and phase- appropriate self because of defects in the quality of psychological nurturing provided, usually by the mother. The exhibitionist narcissist is the one described in DSM-IV and differs from the closet narcissist in several important ways. The closet narcissist is more likely to be described as having a deflated, inadequate self perception and greater awareness of emptiness within. The exhibitionist narcissist would be described as having an inflated, grandiose self perception with little or no conscious awareness of the emptiness within. Such a person would assume that this condition was normal and that others were just like them. The closet narcissist seeks constant approval from others and appears similar to the borderline in the need to please others. The exhibitionist narcissist seeks perfect admiration all the time from others. Millon's variations Theodore Millon identified five variations of narcissist: Any individual narcissist may exhibit none or one of the following: * unprincipled narcissist - including antisocial features. A charlatan - is a fraudulent, exploitative, deceptive and unscrupulous individual. * amorous narcissist - including histrionic features. The Don Juan or Casanova of our times - is erotic, exhibitionist. * compensatory narcissist - including negativistic (passive-aggressive), avoidant features. * elitist narcissist - variant of pure pattern. Corresponds to Wilhelm Reich's "phallic narcissistic" personality type. * fanatic type - including paranoid features. A severely narcissistically wounded individual, usually with major paranoid tendencies who holds onto an illusion of omnipotence. These people are fighting the reality of their insignificance and lost value and are trying to re-establish their self-esteem through grandiose fantasies and self-reinforcement. When unable to gain recognition of support from others, they take on the role of a heroic or worshipped person with a grandiose mission. Other forms of narcissism Acquired situational narcissism Acquired situational narcissism (ASN) is a form of narcissism that develops in late adolescence or adulthood, brought on by wealth, fame and the other trappings of celebrity. It was coined by Robert B. Millman, professor of psychiatry at the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. ASN differs from conventional narcissism in that it develops after childhood and is triggered and supported by the celebrity-obsessed society: fans, assistants and tabloid media all play into the idea that the person really is vastly more important than other people, triggering a narcissistic problem that might have been only a tendency, or latent, and helping it to become a full-blown personality disorder. In its presentation and symptoms, it is indistinguishable from narcissistic personality disorder, differing only in its late onset and its support by large numbers of others. The person with ASN may suffer from unstable relationships, substance abuse and erratic behaviour. A famous fictional character with ASN is Norma Desmond, the main character of Sunset Boulevard. Aggressive narcissism This is Factor 1 in the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, which includes the following traits: * Glibness/superficial charm * Grandiose sense of self-worth * Pathological lying * Cunning/manipulative * Lack of remorse or guilt * Shallow affect * Callous/lack of empathy * Failure to accept responsibility for own actions. Conversational narcissism Conversational narcissism is a term used by sociologist Charles Derber in his book "The Pursuit of Attention: Power and Ego in Everyday Life". Derber observed that the social support system in America is relatively weak, and this leads people to compete mightily for attention. In social situations, they tend to steer the conversation away from others and toward themselves. "Conversational narcissism is the key manifestation of the dominant attention-getting psychology in America," he wrote. "It occurs in informal conversations among friends, family and coworkers. The profusion of popular literature about listening and the etiquette of managing those who talk constantly about themselves suggests its pervasiveness in everyday life..." What Derber describes as "conversational narcissism" often occurs subtly rather than overtly, because even the dim-witted among us know that it's rude not to show interest in others, and prudent to avoid being judged an egotist. Derber distinguishes the "shift-response" from the "support-response." Corporate narcissism Organizational psychologist Alan Downs wrote a book in 1997 describing corporate narcissism Downs, Alan: Beyond The Looking Glass: Overcoming the Seductive Culture of Corporate Narcissism, 1997. He explores high-profile corporate leaders (such as Al Dunlap and Robert Allen) who, he suggests, literally have only one thing on their minds: profits. According to Downs, such narrow focus actually may yield positive short-term benefits, but ultimately it will drag down individual employees as well as entire companies. Alternative thinking is proposed, and some firms now utilizing these options are examined. Downs's theories are relevant to those which have been suggested by Victor Hill in his book, Corporate Narcissism in Accounting Firms Australia. Hill, Victor (2005) Corporate Narcissism in Accounting Firms Australia, Pengus Books Australia Cross-cultural narcissism Lachkar describes the phenomena of cross-cultural narcissism thus:Lachkar, Joan: How to Talk to a Narcissist, 2008. "The cross-cultural narcissist brings to his new country a certain amount of nationalistic pride, which he holds onto relentlessly. He refuses to adapt and will go to great lengths to maintain his sense of special identity. Cross-cultural narcissists often hook up with borderline women, who tend to idealize and be mesmerized by men from another culture." Cultural narcissism In The Culture of NarcissismLasch, C, The Culture of Narcissism. 1979, Christopher Lasch defines a narcissistic culture as one in which every activity and relationship is defined by the hedonistic need to acquire the symbols of wealth, this becoming the only expression of rigid, yet covert, social hierarchies. It is a culture where liberalism only exists insofar as it serves a consumer society, and even art, sex and religion lose their liberating power. In such a society of constant competition, there can be no allies, and little transparency. The threats to acquisitions of social symbols are so numerous, varied and frequently incomprehensible, that defensiveness, as well as competitiveness, becomes a way of life. Any real sense of community is undermined -- or even destroyed -- to be replaced by virtual equivalents that strive, unsuccessfully, to synthesize a sense of community. Destructive narcissism Destructive narcissism describes someone who constantly exhibits numerous and intense characteristics usually associated with the pathological narcissist but having fewer characteristics than pathological narcissism.Brown, Nina W., The Destructive Narcissistic Pattern, 1998 Gender narcissism Gender narcissism is a relatively new concept, referred to by Dr. Gerald SchoenwolfSchoenwolf, Gerald, PH.D Gender Narcissism and its Manifestations, with reference to both males and females. The concept builds on Freud's theories of penis envy and the castration anxiety. Chiefly that an over-emphasis or over-perception of gender and gender difference in childhood can lead to either a devaluation or an over-valuation of one's gender in later life. Dr. Schoenwolf in particular suggests that the emergence of the feminist personality, with gonadal-centric views, and female gender narcissism are synonymous. Group narcissism Group narcissism is described in a 1973 book by psychologist Erich FrommFromm, Erich, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, 1973. Malignant narcissism Malignant narcissism, a term first coined in a book by Erich Fromm in 1964,Fromm, Erich, The Heart of Man, 1964 is a syndrome consisting of a cross breed of the narcissistic personality disorder, the antisocial personality disorder, as well as paranoid traits. The malignant narcissist differs from narcissistic personality disorder in that the malignant narcissist derives higher levels of psychological gratification from accomplishments over time (thus worsening the disorder). Because the malignant narcissist becomes more involved in this psychological gratification, they are apt to develop the antisocial, the paranoid, and the schizoid personality disorders. The term malignant is added to the term narcissist to indicate that individuals with this disorder tend to worsen in their impulse controls and desires over time. Medical narcissism Medical narcissism is a term coined by John Banja in his book "Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism".Banja, John, Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism, 2005Banja, John, (as observed by Eric Rangus) John Banja: Interview with the clinical ethicist Banja defines "medical narcissism" as the need of health professionals to preserve their self esteem leading to the compromise of error disclosure to patients. In the book he explores the psychological, ethical and legal effects of medical errors and the extent to which a need to constantly assert their competence can cause otherwise capable, and even exceptional, professionals to fall into narcissistic traps. He claims that: "...most health professionals (in fact, most professionals of any ilk) work on cultivating a self that exudes authority, control, knowledge, competence and respectability. It’s the narcissist in us all—we dread appearing stupid or incompetent." Phallic narcissism Wilhelm Reich first identified the phallic narcissistic personality type, with excessively inflated self-image. The individual is elitist, a "social climber", superior, admiration seeking, self-promoting, bragging and empowered by social success. Primordial narcissism Psychiatrist Ernst Simmel first defined primordial narcissism in 1944.Simmel, Ernst, Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 1944, Vol. XIII, No. 2, pp. 160–185. Simmel's fundamental thesis is that the most primitive stage of libidinal development is not the oral, but the gastro-intestinal one. Mouth and anus are merely to be considered as the terminal parts of this organic zone. Simmel terms the psychological condition of prenatal existence 'primordial narcissism'. It is the vegetative stage of the pre-ego, identical with the id. At this stage there is complete instinctual repose, manifested in unconsciousness. Satiation of the gastro-intestinal zone, the representative of the instinct of self-preservation, can bring back this complete instinctual repose, which, under pathological conditions, can become the aim of the instinct. Contrary to Lasch, Bernard Stiegler argues in his book, Acting Out, that consumer capitalism is in fact destructive of primordial narcissism, without which it is not possible to extend love to others.Bernard Stiegler, Acting Out (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2009). Sexual narcissism Sexual narcissism has been described as an egocentric pattern of sexual behavior that involves both low self-esteem and an inflated sense of sexual ability and sexual entitlement. In addition, sexual narcissism is the erotic preoccupation with oneself as a superb lover through a desire to merge sexually with a mirror image of oneself. Sexual narcissism, coined by David Farley Hurlbert, Hurlbert, D.F. & Apt, C., (1991). Sexual narcissism and the abusive male, Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 17, 279-292. is an intimacy dysfunction in which sexual exploits are pursued, generally in the form of extramarital affairs, to overcompensate for low self-esteem and an inability to experience true intimacy. This behavioral pattern is believed to be more common in men than in women and has been tied to domestic violence in men Hurlbert, D.F., Apt, C., Gasar, S., Wilson, N.E., & Murphy, Y. (1994). Sexual narcissism: a validation study, Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 20, 24-34. and sexual coercion in couples.Ryan, K.M., Weikel, K., & Sprechini, G., (2008). Gender differences in narcissism and courtship violence in dating couples, Sex Roles. 58, 802-813. Hurlbert argues that sex is a natural biological given and therefore cannot be deemed as an addiction. He and his colleagues assert that any sexual addiction is nothing more than a misnomer for what is actually sexual narcissism or sexual compulsivity.Apt, C. & Hurlbert, D. F. (1995) “Sexual Narcissism: Addiction or Anachronism?” The Family Journal, 3, 103-107. Spiritual narcissism Spiritual narcissism describes mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spiritualism into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor.http://www.integralworld.net/larsson.html This is based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress. Commonly used measures Narcissistic Personality Inventory The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is the most widely used measure of narcissism in social psychological research. Although several versions of the NPI have been proposed in the literature, a forty-item forced-choice version (Raskin & Terry, 1988) is the one most commonly employed in current research. The NPI is based on the DSM-III clinical criteria for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), although it was designed to measure these features in the general population. Thus, the NPI is often said to measure "normal" or "subclinical" (borderline) narcissism (i.e., in people who score very high on the NPI do not necessarily meet criteria for diagnosis with NPD). The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) is a widely used diagnostic test developed by Theodore Millon. The MCMI includes a scale for Narcissism. Auerbach JS ("Validation of two scales for narcissistic personality disorder", J Pers Assess. 1984 Dec;48(6):649-53. Pubmed) compared the NPI and MCMI and found them well correlated, r(146) = .55, p<.001. It should be noted that whereas the MCMI measures narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), the NPI measures narcissism as it occurs in the general population. In other words, the NPI measures "normal" narcissism; i.e., most people who score very high on the NPI do not have NPD. Indeed, the NPI does not capture any sort of narcissism taxon as would be expected if it measured NPD.Foster, J.D., & Campbell, W.K., Are there such things as "narcissists" in social psychology? A taxometric analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, in press. Narcissistic parents Narcissistic parents demand certain behavior from their children because they see the children as extensions of themselves, and need the children to represent them in the world in ways that meet the parents’ emotional needs.Rappoport, Alan, Ph. D.Co-Narcissism: How We Adapt to Narcissistic Parents. The Therapist, in press. Narcissism and leadership A study published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that when a group is without a leader, you can often count on a narcissist to take charge. Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups.Narcissistic People Most Likely to Emerge as Leaders Newswise, Retrieved on October 7, 2008. Narcissistic Culture Historian and social critic Christopher Lasch (1932—1994) described this topic in his book, "The Culture of Narcissism",Lasch, C, The Culture of Narcissism. 1979 published in 1979. He defines a narcissistic culture as one in which every activity and relationship is defined by the hedonistic need to acquire the symbols of material wealth, this becoming the only expression of rigid, yet covert, social hierarchies. It is a culture where liberalism only exists insofar as it serves a consumer society, and even art, sex and religion lose their liberating power. See Decadence and Determinism. He claims that, in such a society of constant competition, there can be no allies, and little transparency. The threats to acquisitions of social symbols are so numerous, varied and frequently incomprehensible, that defensiveness, as well as competitiveness, becomes a way of life. Any real sense of community is undermined -- or even destroyed -- to be replaced by virtual equivalents that strive, unsuccessfully, to synthesise a sense of community. Contrary to Lasch, Bernard Stiegler argues in his book, Aimer, s’aimer, nous aimer: Du 11 septembre au 21 avril (2003), that consumer capitalism is in fact destructive of what he calls primordial narcissism, without which it is not possible to extend love to others. Meredith Black has said that narcissism can not only be detrimental to one's health, but also a symptom of psychological problems that have decided to express themselves through a greater focus on self. Narcissism as a genetic trait In the decades since the discovery of DNA and the subsequent mapping of the human genome questions have arisen as to whether traits of personality, including narcissism, are partially or fully determined by one’s own genes. Heritability study with twins Livesley et al. (1993) published a paper entitled Genetic and environmental contributions to dimensions of personality disorder, which concluded that narcissism, as measured by a standardized test, was a common inherited trait. The study subjects were 175 volunteer twin pairs (90 identical, 85 fraternal) drawn from the general population. Each twin completed a questionnaire that assessed 18 dimensions of personality disorder. The authors estimated the heritability of each dimension of personality by standard methods, thus providing estimates of the relative contributions of genetic and environmental causation. Of the 18 personality dimensions, narcissism was found to have the highest heritability (0.64), indicating that the concordance of this trait in the identical twins was mainly due to genetics. Of the other dimensions of personality, only four were found to have heritability coefficients of greater than 0.5: callousness, identity problems, oppositionality and social avoidance. The study generally concluded that, in agreement with other studies, some personality factors have significantly high heritability coefficients, and there exists a continuum between normal and disordered personality. Livesley, W.J., Jang, K.L., Jackson, D.N. and P.A. Vernon (1993). "Genetic and environmental contributions to dimensions of personality disorder". American Journal of Psychiatry 150, 1826-1831. Abstract online. Accessed June 18, 2006. Narcissism in evolutionary psychology The concept of narcissism is used in evolutionary psychology in relation to the mechanisms of assortative mating, or the non-random choice of a partner for purposes of procreation. An article published in 2005 by Alvarez summarizes the work in this field. Evidence for assortative mating among humans is well established; humans mate assortatively regarding age, IQ, height, weight, nationality, educational and occupational level, physical and personality characters and family relatedness. In the “self seeking like” hypothesis, individuals unconsciously look for a mirror image of themselves in others, seeking criteria of beauty or reproductive fitness in the context of self-reference. The study of Alvarez indicated that facial resemblance between couples was a strong driving force among the mechanisms of assortative mating: human couples resemble each other significantly more than would be expected from random pair formation. Since facial characteristics are known to be inherited, the "self seeking like" mechanism may enhance reproduction between genetically similar mates, favoring the stabilization of genes supporting social behavior, with no kin relationship among them. Alvarez, L. (2005). “Narcissism guides mate selection: Humans mate assortatively, as revealed by facial resemblance, following an algorithm of ‘self seeking like’”. Evolutionary Psychology 2', 177-194. See online. Accessed July 21, 2006. Medical narcissism Medical narcissism is a term coined by John Banja in his book "Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism" Banja, John, Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism, 2005Banja, John, (as observed by Eric Rangus) John Banja: Interview with the clinical ethicist. Banja defines "Medical Narcissism" as the need of health professionals to preserve their self esteem leading to the compromise of error disclosure to patients. In the book he explores the psychological, ethical and legal effects of medical errors and the extent to which a need to constantly assert their competence can cause otherwise capable, and even exceptional, professionals to fall into narcissistic traps. He claims that: ''"...most health professionals (in fact, most professionals of any ilk) work on cultivating a self that exudes authority, control, knowledge, competence and respectability. It’s the narcissist in us all—we dread appearing stupid or incompetent." Celebrating Narcissism Dandyism A '''dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and the cultivation of leisurely hobbies. Some dandies, especially in Britain in the late 18th and 19th century, strove to affect aristocratic values even though many came from common backgrounds. Thus, a dandy could be considered a kind of snob. The Dandiacal Body from Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle: :"A Dandy is a clothes-wearing Man, a Man whose trade, office and existence consists in the wearing of Clothes. Every faculty of his soul, spirit, purse, and person is heroically consecrated to this one object, the wearing of Clothes wisely and well: so that the others dress to live, he lives to dress...And now, for all this perennial Martyrdom, and Poesy, and even Prophecy, what is it that the Dandy asks in return? Solely, we may say, that you would recognise his existence; would admit him to be a living object; or even failing this, a visual object, or thing that will reflect rays of light..." New Romantic Decadence and Narcissism were recurring themes in the New Romantic movement that began in London Nightclubs in the 1980s. The movement was all about style, as former punks clothed themselves in surreal, anarchic glamour and romance, and postured, always on the lookout for new ways to draw attention to themselves. It was all about making "an effort to look flamboyant in an attractive, luxuriant, beautiful, narcissistic way" 1980s Fashion History, New Romantics. Accessed June 19, 2006. with icons such as David Bowie, Adam & the Ants, Bryan Ferry, Gary Numan and Duran Duran.Scotland on Sunday, 14 March, 2004, Who says romance is dead? Accessed June 19, 2006. Metrosexual In 1994, in the British Newspaper The Independent journalist Mark Simpson first coined the term "Metrosexual". In 2002 he went on to further define the term on Salon.com. :"Well, perhaps it takes one to know one, but to determine a metrosexual, all you have to do is look at them. In fact, if you're looking at them, they're almost certainly metrosexual. The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis -- because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere."Simpson, Mark Meet the Metrosexual. Accessed June 19, 2006. See also * Adolescent egocentrism * Autoeroticism * Egocentrism * Grandiosity * Illusory superiority * Malignant narcissism * Megalomania * Narcissism (psychology) * Narcissistic elation * Narcissistic injury * Narcissistic neurosis * Narcissistic object choice * Narcissistic personality disorder * Primary narcissism * Positive illusions * Secondary narcissism * Selfishness * Self reference * Superiority complex References External links * Narcissism Jeremy Holmes * Lasch on Culture of Narcissism Dolores James * The new narcissism, Nicholas Carr * A guide on dealing with superiority and inferiority complex Category:Love category:Personality traits Category:Narcissim Category:Self